Spaced out

In the US, we like to give about three feet distance when talking to strangers and two feet when talking with friends. In Brazil, complete strangers often stand face-to-face and even touch when talking. In the US, we expect a two-way street to have enough room for two vehicles to pass, plus a little room to spare. In Brazil sometimes one vehicle has to back up a little, or tuck into a driveway. Similarly, standing in line in Brazil involves a little bodily contact and if you find yourself in a crowd, like we did during Carnival, you might literally be carried away by the press of bodies.  In general, there is a whole lot more reaching around, squeezing through and inadvertent touching than what we are used to. Often this reaching, squeezing and touching comes without apology or even an "excuse me." Not because Brazilians are rude (they aren't!) but because there is literarily nothing to excuse.  It's just the way it is. In fact, we are the rude ones with our gimme attitudes toward space and stepping back from friendly conversation as if we are afraid of catching a disease. As with everything, we are slowly adapting. We are standing closer weaving through, and blurring our notions of personal and intimate space. I'm sure we will have a lot of fun with that one when we return to the US.